Panel fastening system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10443635-B2
Application number	US-201615296462-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 18, 2016
Priority date	Oct 18, 2016
Publication date	Oct 15, 2019
Grant date	Oct 15, 2019

Abstract

A fastening system for joining a first composite sandwich panel and a second composite sandwich panel comprising a cam assembly and a stud receiving assembly. The cam assembly is configured to be positioned within a first hole extending through a thickness of a first composite sandwich panel. The cam assembly comprises a housing and a cam connector rotatable within the housing. The cam connector is configured to engage a head of a stud. The stud receiving assembly is configured to be positioned within a second hole extending through a thickness of a second composite sandwich panel. The stud receiving assembly has internal retaining channels configured to secure a first end of the stud.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fastening system for joining a first composite sandwich panel and a second composite sandwich panel, the fastening system comprising:
a cam assembly positioned within a first hole extending through a thickness of a first composite sandwich panel, the cam assembly comprising a housing and a cam connector rotatable within the housing, wherein the cam connector is configured to engage a head of a stud;
a stud receiving assembly positioned within a second hole extending through a thickness of a second composite sandwich panel, the stud receiving assembly having internal retaining channels configured to secure a first end of the stud within the stud receiving assembly, wherein an inner stud case of the stud receiving assembly is configured such that rotating the inner stud case adjusts a length of the stud receiving assembly to be the same as the thickness of the second composite sandwich panel; and
the stud, wherein the stud comprises a plurality of retaining fins configured to engage the internal retaining channels of the stud receiving assembly, and wherein the stud is configured to be inserted into the stud receiving assembly without rotation.

2. The fastening system of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises an opening configured to receive the head of the stud.

3. The fastening system of claim 2 , wherein a first hole in an inner cam case and a second hole in an outer cam case form the opening of the housing.

4. The fastening system of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises an inner cam case and an outer cam case, wherein the inner cam case and the outer cam case have a friction fit.

5. The fastening system of claim 1 further comprising:
a potting material within the first hole contacting the cam assembly and the first composite sandwich panel and within the second hole contacting the stud receiving assembly and the second composite sandwich panel.

6. The fastening system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the stud or an inner stud case of the stud receiving assembly is formed of a high performing thermoplastic.

7. A panel system for forming a monument, the panel system comprising:
a first composite sandwich panel having a first hole extending through a thickness of the first composite sandwich panel;
a cam assembly positioned within the first hole, the cam assembly comprising a housing and a cam connector rotatable within the housing, wherein the cam connector is configured to engage a head of a stud;
a second composite sandwich panel having a second hole extending through a thickness of the second composite sandwich panel;
a stud receiving assembly positioned within the second hole, the stud receiving assembly having internal retaining channels configured to secure a first end of the stud within the stud receiving assembly, wherein an inner stud case of the stud receiving assembly is configured such that rotating the inner stud case adjusts a length of the stud receiving assembly to be the same as the thickness of the second composite sandwich panel; and
the stud having a head on a second end and a plurality of retaining fins on the first end, and wherein the stud is configured to be inserted into the stud receiving assembly without rotation.

8. The panel system of claim 7 , wherein the stud is formed of a material configured to provide one-way plastic deformation.

9. The panel system of claim 7 , wherein the first composite sandwich panel comprises a first skin, a honeycomb core, and a second skin, and wherein the second composite sandwich panel comprises a third skin, a honeycomb core, and a fourth skin.

10. The panel system of claim 7 , wherein a core of the first composite sandwich panel is a honeycomb core, and wherein a core of the second composite sandwich panel is a honeycomb core.

11. The panel system of claim 7 , wherein the housing comprises an opening configured to receive the head of the stud.

12. The panel system of claim 11 , wherein a first hole in an inner cam case and a second hole in an outer cam case form the opening of the housing.

13. A method comprising:
inserting a cam assembly into a first hole extending through a thickness of a first composite panel, the cam assembly comprising a housing and a cam connector rotatable within the housing, wherein the cam connector is configured to engage a head of a stud, and wherein the housing has a substantially smooth exterior surface;
inserting a stud receiving assembly within a second hole extending through a thickness of a second composite panel, the stud receiving assembly having internal retaining channels configured to secure a first end of the stud within the stud receiving assembly, wherein the stud receiving assembly has a substantially smooth exterior surface;
inserting the stud into the first end of the stud into the stud receiving assembly by pushing the stud into the first end of the stud receiving assembly, wherein the stud is configured to be inserted into the stud receiving assembly without rotation; and
rotating an inner stud case of the stud receiving assembly relative to an outer stud case of the stud receiving assembly to adjust a length of the stud receiving assembly, such that the length of the stud receiving assembly is substantially the same as the thickness of the second composite panel.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:
injecting a potting material into the first hole between the cam assembly and the first composite panel; and
injecting the potting material into the second hole between the stud receiving assembly and the second composite panel.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein injecting the potting material into the first hole and the second hole is performed during a potting step for other inserts for at least one of the first composite panel or the second composite panel.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:
inserting the head of the stud into the housing of the cam assembly; and
rotating the cam connector within the housing to engage the head of the stud and form a joint between the first composite panel and the second composite panel.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the joint is a butt joint.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first composite panel and the second composite panel comprise a plurality of composite skins, the method further comprising:
applying loads to the joint; and
transferring applied shear loads to the plurality of composite skins by the stud.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein inserting the first end of the stud into the stud receiving assembly is performed during an assembly step following the potting step.

20. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first composite panel is a first composite sandwich panel having a honeycomb core, and wherein the second composite panel is a second composite sandwich panel having a honeycomb core.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Cuddy Nathanial C

Classifications

• F16B37/042

  locking by rotation · CPC title

• F16B13/141

  Fixing plugs in holes by the use of settable material · CPC title

• F16B12/46

  Non-metal corner connections · CPC title

• F16B12/24

  using separate pins, dowels, or the like · CPC title

• F16B11/006

  by gluing (gluing of plastics material B29C65/48) · CPC title